Me ? . . . (thinking) . . . I would have to say my color Canon AS-100 ( I have both color and mono versions). Most prized peripheral is my IBM PGC and (currently inoperative) 5175 monitor. My most prized empty case LOL is an Intel 286 era multibus box. Most prized software, well I've been blessed to obtain a number of warez and docs for my Mindset and NEC APC III. I do highly appreciate my MS Quick C w/Quick Assembler 4.5 package I obtained recently.

Your turn . . .

Oh and what rates high on your want list? Me ... I don't, I'd have to think on it. A Dimension 68000 I suppose and I've had many, many oppurtunities to own several, but waffled and now I don't have a one.
]]>General Vintage Computer Discussionstipchttp://www.vcfed.org/forum/showthread.php?59213-What-is-your-most-prized-vintage-computer-itemThe Worst Computer Of All Timehttp://www.vcfed.org/forum/showthread.php?59182-The-Worst-Computer-Of-All-Time&goto=newpost
Tue, 15 Aug 2017 09:05:30 GMTWhat's the worst computer you've ever encountered?
Or the worst computer you can possibly imagine?

For me, "the worst" *isn't* just one with the lowest processing power and storage, as this would inevitably lead to ENIAC and other 1940s iron.
It *isn't* something with the worst performance compared to what was on the top at the moment, as low performance is often totally justified - it allows for low price, compact size, longer battery life, compatibility with legacy software, and so on.

For me, "the worst" is something that seems to be intentionally crippled, stuff which deviates from established standards for no valid reason - changes just for the sake of changes, products that could have been done better without the need for higher technology and cost increase.

I mostly associate such products with the 90s era, and who knows, maybe it's even possible to have them all in one box?

* Celeron 266 - removed L2 cache from the processor module, impossible to have cache on the mobo, 66 MHz FSB even though it was designed for 100 MHz (virtually all these Celerons were overclockable by 50%!), effect: sometimes it was slower than its predecessor - Pentium MMX
* AMR and CNR slots - absolutely no technical reasons to have them, they just occupied space lowering the count of universal ISA/PCI slots, especially the fact they often replaced ISA slots was painful, as ISA was becoming rare and precious in that era
* softmodems, GDI-only printers, and other "soft-" hardware - OK, this not quite fits here, as their fully-hardware counterparts had to be more expensive, but still, they used to be such PITA that I just can't omit them here
* Microsoft Natural Keyboard - not only looks stupid, but also breaks the keyboard layout everybody was accustomed to, especially the variant with vertical Home/End/PageUp/Down/Delete/Insert block. Those keyboards with the three ACPI keys just above the arrows, where one would expect Delete/End/PageDown, were a very close competitor.
* Microsoft Mouse - I mean that curved mouse, which also looks stupid, and has just 2 buttons, ie. very inconvenient even for Microsoft's own Minesweeper
* Colani case - looks like a toy for children aged 0-3, absolutely no sharp edges, pretty much requires drives with special front panel, as normal ones not quite fit
* AMI Winbios - BIOS setup with GUI, needs mouse, and only some mouse types are supported, IIRC 3-button mice with Mouse Systems protocol didn't work
* Windows ME - still running on top of DOS, but with DOS artificially hidden, it's enough to patch a few bytes to get fully-functional DOS back! And there was more problems with ME. I suspect ME was intentionally broken to convince people to adopt XP, even though XP was also a major PITA.
* Microsoft Bob - the most retarded piece of software in history, and they probably seriously considered making it mainstream, argh!
* Clippy and all that stuff - just can't keep myself from doing a facepalm at that, and they carried that on for a full decade...

moving this topic to a new thread.
]]>General Vintage Computer Discussionsbilldeghttp://www.vcfed.org/forum/showthread.php?59029-IBM-XT-vs-Apple-IIe-which-is-betterIf you were downsizing...http://www.vcfed.org/forum/showthread.php?59006-If-you-were-downsizing&goto=newpost
Thu, 03 Aug 2017 03:39:32 GMT*NOTE* none of this is actually up for sale yet, I'm just thinking... made me wonder if others have similar issues with their collections. I'm also just thinking aloud here.

I've been considering the need to downsize my collection a bit, and was just thinking of priorities and what I use, what I don't, what's important to me, and what isn't... Simple fact is I don't have room to have them all set up at once, nor am I likely to so...

It's funny because what's rising to the top of the list to go isn't something I'd have expected -- my Apple IIe. I DON'T USE IT!. I might consider keeping it if I had the matching monitor, but right now it's just sucking down space on a bench doing nothing. (that could be better filled with a recently acquired Rainbow 100)

Maybe it's because I found Woz's alleged "cost saving" shortcuts (that still doesn't explain it costing more than more capable competitors -- oh wait, Jobbo the clown's greed) pointlessly aggravating... maybe it's because I never actually saw one in person (I honestly thought was advertised in magazines that nobody actually owned) until around 1988 (where my school had them all locked in a room as they cost too much to risk the students damaging them -- that's not a joke. I don't think they were ever even powered on once) despite being hip-deep in Microcomputing since '77. Maybe it's because I was a "Wayne Green country" TRS-80 or die child but...

...I'm just NOT an Apple guy. I thought having one and actually getting to used it would change that -- but the more and more I deal with it the more and more it aggravates me like everything else crApple has ever made which is why it has sat there without power since... hell, this time last year?

I find my Minus-60 more fun and interesting.

Much less I probably have enough spare parts in the bin to build another one sans case if the mood REALLY struck me. Got that spare duodisk too that I can't use since no controller and to make it more aggravating, it's the 25 pin version.

Apples still remain a "why the *** did anyone buy these" for me. A fact made worse by their revisionist history and overblowing their importance in same.

I'm pondering parting with my loaded out Coco 1 (with the full 2 keyboard -- kind of wish I had a melted for it)[/i], though the trio sitting in the garage gathering dust (two of them are 32k piggyback ECB, one is 4k standard basic with a shattered case) should go first. Because I have a 128k Coco 3 the others should go... but the Coco is near and dear to my heart. Partly because when I was taking Pascal classes in school I could go home and actually run the code under OS9-- when the classes at that point were PURELY theoretical because... uhm, see above.

The Sharp PC 7000 should go, one of the two floppies has problems (not good since they're technically one drive sharing the same spindle) ... but I just LOVE the lunchbox form factor. I've been half tempted to gut it, put the guts of my MSI Wind U123 in it, and then weigh it down with 12 pounds of LIPO packs. :D

There's my busted 4P... NOT happy about that. Needs caps, needs a TUBE now, needs a resistor replaced and is missing half the ram (it has the chip to go to 128, but I pulled the RAM for my Coco 1 after the tube broke)... IT's so screwed up now I'm not even sure its worth anything but as parts. I know the plastics are screwed as I had them removed completely, then we had unexpected flooding.

I do KNOW the C64, 1000SX, Jr, and XT clone aren't going anywhere. ESPECIALLY since that XT clone is now booting off a 9gb 15K RPM Seagate Cheetah. I was SHOCKED when my ST-02 card recognized it after adding the 68 pin to 50 pin adapter.

Thinking of my parts stockpile, I should condense all the 1000 EX/HX parts I have left over to see if I can build at least one more unit from the leftovers. Sadly I left one in a friends care and just my luck, some form of rodent nested in it. :( Pissed me off royally because in the process it totaled one of those semi-rare memory boards for them.

Could be worse though, could be my stack of MC-10's destroyed by said flooding.

In any case... I know many of you have faced this situation. Just curious in your own collections what would you put at the top of the list to go... and why?

Strangely the past year I've gone from struggling to get the stuff I want, to drowning in stuff I don't need. Though admittedly a LOT of that comes from buying whole lots or going to estate sales where they want to sell you "the whole box of stuff" and doing so ONLY because it is often cheaper than getting the single piece I want all by itself. Shocking how fast duplicates can suddenly pile up on you.
]]>General Vintage Computer Discussionsdeathshadowhttp://www.vcfed.org/forum/showthread.php?59006-If-you-were-downsizinghttp://www.vcfed.org/forum/showthread.php?58998-Let-s-share-how-our-retro-computing-place-looks-like&goto=newpost
Wed, 02 Aug 2017 11:44:28 GMTLooking at the inotarobot's thread, decided to post as my place, where I work on modern laptop, but also use my vintage computers looked like some time ago...

]]>General Vintage Computer DiscussionsSandisk78http://www.vcfed.org/forum/showthread.php?58998-Let-s-share-how-our-retro-computing-place-looks-likesharing a quickly taken pic of the vintage section of my electronic-computer roomhttp://www.vcfed.org/forum/showthread.php?58996-sharing-a-quickly-taken-pic-of-the-vintage-section-of-my-electronic-computer-room&goto=newpost
Wed, 02 Aug 2017 09:00:52 GMTenjoy .. this is a small portion of the Vintage gear area.
Image: http://i.imgur.com/pKObQmX.jpgenjoy .. this is a small portion of the Vintage gear area.

Thank you,
Evan K.
]]>General Vintage Computer DiscussionsEvanKhttp://www.vcfed.org/forum/showthread.php?58970-VCF-needs-shelvingPics of Siemens Fernschreiber 100 Telex, finally home in my Computer roomhttp://www.vcfed.org/forum/showthread.php?58957-Pics-of-Siemens-Fernschreiber-100-Telex-finally-home-in-my-Computer-room&goto=newpost
Sun, 30 Jul 2017 23:21:15 GMTInternal Pics of yet another machine I have brought home from my remote storage.
Siemens Fernschreiber 100 Telex. So far I have not found an...Internal Pics of yet another machine I have brought home from my remote storage.

Siemens Fernschreiber 100 Telex. So far I have not found an online manual early enough. However it has some very Valuable info on servicing

All online manuals show 4 rows of keys, as per this illustration

where as my machine only has 3 rows of keys

More Photos here

http://imgur.com/a/23AZC
]]>General Vintage Computer Discussionsinotarobothttp://www.vcfed.org/forum/showthread.php?58957-Pics-of-Siemens-Fernschreiber-100-Telex-finally-home-in-my-Computer-roomAnyone know what these memory boards are coming from?http://www.vcfed.org/forum/showthread.php?58945-Anyone-know-what-these-memory-boards-are-coming-from&goto=newpost
Sun, 30 Jul 2017 03:39:19 GMTThere has been several of these. I bought one for around $130 hoping to salvage the 1101s.. there were a couple more which I'm pretty sure this guy bought for the same prices and is now trying to flip. Just curipus what they came from.

http://www.ebay.com/itm/162609827666
]]>General Vintage Computer Discussionsfalterhttp://www.vcfed.org/forum/showthread.php?58945-Anyone-know-what-these-memory-boards-are-coming-fromIntel I4004http://www.vcfed.org/forum/showthread.php?58908-Intel-I4004&goto=newpost
Fri, 28 Jul 2017 04:03:12 GMTI was wondering if there is any interest in talking about 4004
coding. Not every one has a real 4004 system to experiment with
but there are still...I was wondering if there is any interest in talking about 4004
coding. Not every one has a real 4004 system to experiment with
but there are still a number of emulators out there.
Of interest is an instruction I discovered while looking at some code.
It seems that one of the combinations of the JCN can be used as
an always 'SKIP' instructions.
It makes it possible to have several single byte instructions at the
beginning of a routine. The single instruction can be hidden in
the address field and only executed when a JMP or JSR points
to that address.
It can be very handy for RAM addressing.
I was hoping to startup conversations about coding tricks and even
hardware issues.
Including the I4040 that can be a lot cheaper to make a working
system.
Dwight
]]>General Vintage Computer DiscussionsDwight Elveyhttp://www.vcfed.org/forum/showthread.php?58908-Intel-I4004Trying to understand flip chipshttp://www.vcfed.org/forum/showthread.php?58907-Trying-to-understand-flip-chips&goto=newpost
Fri, 28 Jul 2017 03:04:39 GMTWas doing some reading on Jon Titus' MD-80, and talking to him personally about it. That particular machine was built with flip chips.. but I regret I still don't understand the significance/difference between flip chips and other boards. My read on wikipedia says components are specifically designed for it.. ie. They have little pads on the bottom and get soldered on via hot air. But every example of a flip chip I've seen so far just look like standard ICs and parts. The MD-80 even appears to have sockets. So what's the deal? Did they sell blank flip chip boards you build out to your own specs?
]]>General Vintage Computer Discussionsfalterhttp://www.vcfed.org/forum/showthread.php?58907-Trying-to-understand-flip-chipsVCF West updateshttp://www.vcfed.org/forum/showthread.php?58869-VCF-West-updates&goto=newpost
Wed, 26 Jul 2017 03:45:07 GMTEveryone,

Online ticket sales for VCF West end this Friday night. Of course you can buy tickets at the gate, but you'd save time going online.

Less than two weeks away!!! :o
]]>General Vintage Computer DiscussionsEvanKhttp://www.vcfed.org/forum/showthread.php?58869-VCF-West-updatesGood Morning fellow collectors!http://www.vcfed.org/forum/showthread.php?58849-Good-Morning-fellow-collectors!&goto=newpost
Mon, 24 Jul 2017 14:09:20 GMTI have been pondering at getting a backup motherboard 286 motherboard, but it appears most I see are from over seas on ebay. Has anyone had good...I have been pondering at getting a backup motherboard 286 motherboard, but it appears most I see are from over seas on ebay. Has anyone had good luck with having stuff like that shipped and getting to you one piece?
]]>General Vintage Computer Discussionsjdoerrerhttp://www.vcfed.org/forum/showthread.php?58849-Good-Morning-fellow-collectors!